Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Tasty Benefits of Giving at the Spoonful of Ginger Gala Boston

By: Jessica Cickay

At the 8th Annual Spoonful of Ginger gala to benefit the Joslin Asian American Diabetes Initiative (AAID), I successfully managed to enjoy not only a spoonful, but a forkful, a bowlful and, true to my eating style, a how-can-I-fit-more-plates-in-my-handful of tasty bites for an important cause. For more information about this cause, click here. Hosted in the Museum of Fine Arts’ Art of the Americas Wing, the event allowed guests to learn the tasty benefits of giving. Giving their time, their knowledge, their voices and their donations, guests received exactly the intended goal of the AAID: “A one-of-a-kind food tasting event featuring Boston’s finest culinary artists.”

Nearly 500 guests and over 25 restaurants attended the Spoonful of Ginger gala, with each and every guest ready to indulge in each and every restaurant’s culinary creations. The Joslin Diabetes Center packs a big punch here in Boston and has teamed up with some of the city’s top chefs year after year to bring big names to the big affair. With chefs like Jasper White of Summer Shack, Joanne Chang of Myers + Chang/Flour Bakery, and Gordon Hamersley of Hamersley’s Bistro showing off their culinary skills, a healthy spoonful of celebrity certainly entered the building.

Mini Lemon Meringue

In fact, Joanne Chang brought her A-game so much so that the only place I can think to start is at the very end…dessert! A mini lemon meringue pie, which was hand torched tableside, tasted like sunshine. The brightness of the lemon was bold and refreshing, leaving you only with a smile on your face and definitely not a sour puss. I puckered up many times to enjoy her sinfully sweet treat.

Shrimp and Couscous

Gordon Hamersley stepped away from his infamous roasted chickens for an evening and proved that he can take his skills to the sea. A succulent shrimp seared with spices – dare I say cinnamon was involved? — sat atop a bed of pearled Israeli couscous, which was dressed in an herbaceous pesto sauce and decorated with a variety of fresh spring veggies. I had a double dose of celebrity on one plate, as I paired Hamersley’s dish with a bite of Jasper White’s swordfish. Served on a spoon, White’s swordfish was dusted in a fragrant curry and hid a pile of pickled vegetables underneath – a tongue twister that I wouldn’t mind wrapping my mouth around any day!

Sea Bass in Cabbage

Changsho in Cambridge also flexed their culinary muscles at the event, while earning style points as well. Soft sea bass wrapped in napa cabbage was steamed and served on tiny wooden spoons. The fish was cooked to perfection, subtle yet buttery, with a dash of soy adding a bit of flair to the simply artistic bite.

Chicken Satay

Masala Art’s food made me consider a potential move to Needham – or at least adding their phone number to my speed dial. Skewers of chicken satay were tender from a tangy yogurt marinade and grilled to perfection with a heady mint and cilantro pesto coating. Their Dahi Papdi Chaat, a traditional Indian dish of crisp lentil puffs topped with simmered spiced chick peas and potatoes, was bathed in a bright yogurt sauce and a pleasantly sour tamarind chutney, making their offerings a perfect mix of hot and cold, savory and sweet.

Bowl of Everything!

There were so many great dishes from so many great restaurants all evening, but I must say that Tamarind Bay’s bowl of everything-and-anything-random-yet-delicious made my knees the weakest. I don’t know the exact name of the fabulous Indian fare, but an amalgamation of cold shaved pickled radish, warm spicy chickpeas, crunchy curry-flavored rice puffs, cool tart pomegranate seeds, a hot griddled potato cake and so many other layers of flavor was my favorite dish of the night. Who would have known that all of these random ingredients would pair so well together?! Apparently, Tamarind Bay.

A Spoonful of Ginger was once again one of the classiest and tastiest nights of the year, bringing together people with big hearts and even bigger appetites for one of the biggest issues plaguing a population. I’d eat to the Joslin Asian American Diabetes Initiative any day!